Our great city has been all the buzz lately. GQ renamed us, “Nowville.” A recent Gallup Poll distinguished us as one of the “Top Five Regions for Growth.” CNN placed us in their third slot of “Cities Where Startups Thrive.” Forbes included us in their list of cities that are “Getting Smarter the Fastest.” Travel…
It’s 5 o’clock. You’ve had a long day at the office and can’t wait to get home. You rush to the parking lot, leap into your car and gun it to the 1-65 on-ramp. What you see ahead is not pretty. A sea of cars parked across four lanes. The lane to your left starts…
The year’s end is truly a beginning. This is the time of year businesses begin setting their 2013 goals — New Year’s resolutions for your business.. This process takes time because a good plan—one the business leader and the team will stick to—isn’t created overnight. The same applies to personal resolutions. Forty-five percent of people set…
Before you commit to a relationship, you date. Dating allows for discovery. Is this person who he or she claims to be? Could I see myself with this person long term? Are we a good pair? The same commitment-free discovery process should be permissible in business. Offer a money-back guarantee. Think of it this way,…
“It’s nothing personal Sonny, it’s strictly business.” Unless you’re Al Pacino’s character in the Godfather, or impersonating Al Pacino’s character in the Godfather, you should never utter those words. If you want to run a successful business and be a successful leader, business must be personal. The only offering that truly sets you apart from…
If you know exactly what you want, you increase the likelihood of getting exactly what you want. The converse is also true. If you don’t know what you want, or what you’re doing, you’re likely to cast a wide net, cross your fingers and wait. When you’re fishing, for example, this results in catching littered…
The fourth quarter is approaching–make it count! I’ll tell you everything you need to know to get your biz on track, just read my column below which originally appeared in The Tennessean. You’ve heard the old adage; the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. What you may not have…
If you’ve hired correctly, you have a team with the talent to grow your business. Understand what each team member brings to the table and use that! Below is my column “The Comfort Zone is Your Business’s End Zone” which originally appeared in The Tennessean. Read on to learn about growing your business by utilizing team…
I wrote about meetings in a previous blog entitled, “Meetings Suck.” I agree. Meetings do suck—if you do them incorrectly which most business owners and managers are guilty of. But, meetings are necessary to foster alignment. My article below about “Daily Huddles” was originally published in the Tennessean August 23rd. Read it. From 8:33 to…
So many business owners make it all about them. They fail to recognize the bigger picture. As a business owner you have the opportunity to make a huge impact if you realize it’s not about you. It’s about your team members, their families, the community, the economy, our nation, and you could even go as…